There are a number of prior art patents that disclose medicine dispensing devices that alert the patient at the time or times each day that the medication should be taken. Some of those patents also disclose the concept of advising the patient's physician and/or pharmacist of any non-compliance with the scheduled medication routine.
Typical United States patents along the lines described above include:
______________________________________ Carlson 4,223,801 Carmon 4,258,354 McIntosh 4,682,299 Rose 4,695,954 Urquhart 4,725,997 Kehr 4,768,177 Schaeffer 4,962,491 ______________________________________